Falling Awake
by singyourmelody
Summary: She had lost. Taylor never lost at anything. But she had lost at this. And somehow, for some reason, she was okay with that.


"**Falling Awake"**

By: singyourmelody

Disclaimer: Don't own Taylor, Jackson, Melissa or the show's premise.

A/N: This is a futurefic oneshot, set after the "Hotel Tango" finale. You'd probably need to see that to understand this.

_Don't waste your time on me_

_You're already_

_The voice inside my head_

_Blink 182 "I Miss You"_

It was a long time ago now. Seven kids on a deserted island. It sounded like something from a fairy tale. And it was, in a way.

She would go on to be a media analyst. She'd write books and speak at conferences. People would listen to her. And she'd appreciate that someone would.

No matter what college she was speaking at, the country she was traveling in, the meeting she zoned out of, she saw his eyes. Sitting in the sand, another girl's arms around his neck, he had looked at her.

And she saw it.

The look of dismissal. Of completion. And maybe, just maybe, the smallest hint of sadness and regret. Or had she imagined it?

What could she do? She had nodded her head ever so slightly. Defeated. She had lost. Taylor never lost at anything. But she had lost at this. And somehow, for some reason, she was okay with that. She knew that was how it had to be. Right?

No use trying to plead with him to love her. To pick her. So she had nodded her head and bowed out gracefully, walking to find her belongings before they would return back to the lives they had always known. Their real lives. Or what used to be real.

Because when she laid her head on his shoulder or held his gaze for a few seconds too long, Taylor knew what was real. It was those moments when everything seemed to be okay, even though they were lost and things around them were falling apart.

She didn't know why she thought about it so much. It was a defining time in her life, the experience that got her to snap out of her self-absorption. Got her thinking about school and her future career. Got her where she was today.

When she really thought about it, however, it was him. _He_ got her out of her self-absorption. _He _made her think about her future. _He_ made her want to be better. Better than she was.

And she was better now. Whatever tracks he had left on her heart, he had made her better. Maybe that was what was so attractive about him in the first place.

She thought she saw him once on a sidewalk in New York. They had graduated so many years before, she couldn't be quite sure it was him. But there was a pair of shocking blue eyes and a guitar case is his left hand. She gave a half smile, thinking of his "Chilloween" song and turned her head to watch as he passed her.

She didn't see him turn back to look at her as she reached in her purse to grab her blackberry and look over the day's appointments.

But it didn't matter now. She had a good life, a good thing going. People recognized her expertise and valued her opinion. She was contributing to something bigger than herself.

Her fairy tale didn't end with a prince, like most do. There was no great reunion atop of a high tower. She didn't find her true love.

But she did find herself.

Which was, at the time, what she needed most.

_Well that was kinda sad. I watched the whole series of Flight 29 Down and surprisingly, Taylor became my favorite character, because although she was super annoying early on in the series, she evolved and changed the most of anyone, in my opinion. I was happily surprised when the writers started developing her character more. The finale especially showed Taylor's growth and that final scene where Jackson and Melissa are hugging and Taylor walks by and Jackson just gives her that look and she nods in understanding—wow! I was really impressed by her journey at that moment. I can't say for sure that I am a Jackson/Taylor shipper, because I definitely can see the Melissa/Jackson ship, but I think, at the very least, it is something interesting to explore. Anyway, enough from me! Please please please review!_


End file.
